Dortmund 0-2 Leverkusen: Dominance down the right decides the game in the first half

August 24, 2010

The starting line-ups

An interesting game here, because a 4-4-2 defeated a 4-2-3-1 – intriguing, in the light of Sampdoria, Tottenham and Liverpool’s recent problems with 4-4-2.

Dortmund played a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 system, with the main point of interest being the debut of Japanese international Shinji Kagawa, a highly-rated attacking midfielder signed over the summer from Cerezo Osaka.

The game was essentially decided by two goals in the opening 25 minutes – although Leverkusen were the better side, a two-goal lead slightly flattered them in terms of the balance of play. The difference between the teams was that Leverkusen were quicker and more intelligent in the final third. Dortmund seemed disjointed and wasteful when they worked the ball into good positions, whereas Leverkusen had a clear plan.

Right-sided plan

That plan was to work the ball down the right, and cause Marcel Schmelzer problems in Dortmund’s left-back zone. Leverkusen’s two strikers, Erin Derdiyok and Stefan Kiessling, took it in turns to drop deep and provide a different option, but they both seemed to drift towards the right when Leverkusen won the ball. In addition, Gonzalo Castro made driving runs from full-back, allowing Renato Augusto to drift in and make direct runs towards goal.

The opening goal arrived after great combination play from Castro and Vidal down the right, cutting out three Dortmund players with a quick one-two. Vidal pulled the ball back for Tranquilo Barnetta, who swept the ball into the far corner.

Dortmund had a Sebastian Kehl goal very narrowly disallowed for offside after a cross into the box wasn’t properly cleared, but Leverkusen went 2-0 up straight away, and Dortmund’s problem started in a similar zone to the first goal. This time the approach was more direct – Kiessling (6′4) and Derdiyok (6′3) were taking it in turns to challenge Schmelzer (5′11) in the air, and on this occasion Kiessling nodded the ball down for Augusto, now free thanks to Schmelzer being otherwise occupied. He took the ball forward, exchanged passes with Derdiyok, and after some poor defending, finished into the far corner.

Dortmund offer little response

Dortmund were actually well-organised and had a very good defensive shape when they lost the ball – it was more poor individual defending rather than poor tactical decisions from Jurgen Klopp which cost them the early goals.

With this in mind, he didn’t change things tactically until midway through second half, when he switched to a 4-4-2 system that caused Leverkusen relatively few problems. Amongst their biggest threats in the game had been the runs of Patrick Owomoyela from right-back: it was cross that created Kehl’s disallowed goal, and he also went close to connecting with a through ball in the second half that would have seen him in on goal. (Unfortunately the man ahead of him, Kevin Grosskreutz, had an awful game – completing only six passes, none of which were to the other three attacking Dortmind players.) Indeed, Dortmund sometimes took up an interesting shape when in possession, with Owomoyela getting well forward to join the midfield, and Neven Subotic briefly shifting over to the right, forming a temporary back three.

But Leverkusen were always in control, and rarely looked like letting their lead slip.

Conclusion

Dortmund didn’t offer enough going forward – Kagawa showed a couple of nice touches, but coming into a new league and playing in that position is very difficult, and he will take time to settle in. Despite the disappointment of a home defeat on the opening day, Dortmund’s shape was generally good – they simply need more finesse and craft in the final third.

Leverkusen overcame their numerical disadvantage in the midfield by getting the ball into wide areas quickly, especially down the right, and multiplying the threat on that side by pushing their strikers that way, and telling their right-back to bomb on forward. Domination in that one zone was enough to score two goals, and two goals were enough to win the game.

27 Responses to “ Dortmund 0-2 Leverkusen: Dominance down the right decides the game in the first half ”

How did Lewandowski do? He is the latest prospect from the Polish Ekstraklasa which hasn’t produced many quality footballers. It seems like Klopp was playing him off the main striker in the friendlies. This is not what he was used to at Lech Poznan where he was the top of the formation with guys like Stilic, Peszko, and Krivets behind him. I believe he is a versatile enough player to make a partnership with Barrios work, he is agile, athletic, and technically good. I just hope the step up in competition is not too much for him. The Polish attack is very impotent, Jelen seems to always be ‘injured’ when Poland has a match and Kuba is great but rarely match fit.

P.S. I’m having trouble getting The Guardian’s chalkboards working for me in wordpress. Is there anything special you do or do you just copy and paste the embed link they provide?

I actually felt that Dortmund lost due to a rather unusual lack of composure when things did not go their way – conceding right after they felt they rightfully scored was rather silly, as every one and their mum seemed out of position. Also of note was that in both goals Dortmund could not cope with the opposition frontloading their offensive line with midfielders who consequently scored. Neither of their defensive midfielders was having a particularly good day, Sahin even missing simple key passes several times. Kagawa however was rather a prolific outlet of attacks and seemed to hold the offense together with the other youthful prodigy (Götze – as if Sahin was not enough). Having watched their international game where a free flowing offense connected rather well (albeit with almost no opposition) I am inclined to think that Dortmund should have little problems overcoming their lack of presence in this game. Especially when Klopp finds the time to integrate impact subs into his game plan, something that Levandovski could not (yet) muster up to.

On a side note: I was hoping that ZM would pick up on this, having translated my football purist perspective on the game to spread the word among like minded people who are not German speakers, but alas here goes a shameless plug to a 90 second video “The spirit of the game”. If you are a like minded spirit, please spread the word.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0mrOcZxHV8

Kagawa was not the only surprise in the game – 18 year-old debutant Götze was also. What is missing in the analysis is the way that Vidal dominated midfield.

Daniel N. on August 24, 2010 at 5:29 pm

Goetze is extremely highly rated. A Some folks include him with the likes of Kroos and Oezil in terms of talent and potential and he showed great intelligence in Dortmund’s last two matches. Then again he’s 18 but Klopp is showing a lot of faith in him giving him the starting position. This is an incredibly young side so I hope because they have these results he doesn’t begin to unhinge them because they’ve shown lots of potential. They have fantastic attacking talent in Barrios, Goetze, and Kagawa and in defense they have arguably germany’s best defender in Hummels and another one in Subotic.

As for this match, Leverkusen was simply better organized. There’s not much for tactics in this match as Dortmund was met with a rigid system that has been refined for three seasons. Kroos’ exit didn’t affect them too much as Renato is a very good creative and penetrative player and the likes of Barnetta and Castro loves to cut into the center and shoot as well. With Ballack it gives them a little tactical discipline and this year I have far more expectations to stay within the top three throughout the course of the season instead of starting strong then falling apart completely.

NiWa on August 24, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Daniel, assuming you mean Bayern and Leverkusen, who do you see as third team within the top three this season?

Daniel N. on August 25, 2010 at 4:17 am

That’s a hard one. I think like every Bundesliga season this is a toss up. I said Leverkusen because they had such a solid foundation and needed a year or so of experience to remain consistent and they’ve done that so I should think they can challenge (aside from their historic problem, I’m going to use logic here)

Yea I meant Bayern. They didn’t upgrade their defense but there’s no reason a team with their players should finish anything below third.

As for the third team I think it’s down to Hamburg, and I’ll even throw Schalke in just because it’s Magath and he already overachieved last season.

What do you think?

NiWa on August 28, 2010 at 4:40 am

Not sure if you ll still see this, but I ll post anyway heh.

Hamburg is a good pick, I ll go with Wolfsburg as #3. Their first squad is ace (with Diego just signed), and they should have a good season once everyone is settled in and adjusts to the new coach.

Can’t go wrong with Magath either but I am not convinced yet he ll get the defense on the same level as it was last year. Not a big fan of Metzelder. Though Sarpei should help some.

ricci on August 25, 2010 at 1:24 am

Excellent point on Vidal. To properly play a 4-4-2 nowadays I believe you need a player like this in your central midfield. His game is as close to complete as I’ve ever seen. He really is a great player and I definitely thought he was one of, if not the best Chilean in the world cup team.

Kagawa on August 24, 2010 at 4:31 pm

I thought Kagawa was the best player for Dortmund that day. Maybe I’m biased because I’m Japanese, but a player like him would have helped us so much in the World Cup.

NiWa on August 24, 2010 at 4:41 pm

Kagawa is doing really great so far in Dortmund. Klopp is good with young players as well so I think chances are very good that the next Japanese coach will re-integrate Kagawa soon ;=)

NiWa on August 24, 2010 at 4:32 pm

@Dominic (I screwed up the nested reply somehow) Lewandowski is basically first back-up in the offense currently. He did okay when subbed in against Leverkusen, so you can expect him to get more playing time as a sub soon.

However, it seems Klopp wants to maintain his 4-2-3-1, which means it will be very unlikely that Lewandowski will get a starting spot at the top. Although Hyypiä neutralized Barrios well in this game, his great scoring record last season means Barrios will be set as the top striker for the time being.

With Kagawa (who basically came in for free, surprisingly Dortmund just had to pay a 300k development fee) performing so well in pre-season as well as in the first games (cup, europe league) there is no reason for Klopp to drop him either.

So for Lewandowski to break the starting line up, Klopp would have to either shift Kagawa on the wing and play Lewandowski behind Barrios, or he would have to change his system.
Klopp criticised Kagawa’s crossing in early pre season (“his only weakness”) but he has improved already and will likely continue to do so. This means shifting Kagawa on the wing will be an increasing possibility, if Dortmund doesn’t start winning games with the current wingers.

On the wings, Dortmund usually has Grosskreutz (left) and “Kuba” (right), but Götze is doing surprisingly well already, despite his age (he just turned 18 this summer). He is a great prospect (best German in his age group so far) that plays best on either left wing or in center.

Personally I don’t think Klopp will do starting system switches much early season, although he might be more likely to change the system during the game soon if his team is in need of a goal. That said, I think Leverkusen is probably the strongest squad behind Bayern in the Bundesliga now, so Dortmund should not be worried too much yet.

Thanks for the reply. As a Polish NT supporter we need Lewandowski and Kuba in form. Truthfully I’m scared that Gotze will take over Blaszczykowski’s spot. He didn’t have a great year last term and is constantly injured. When he plays for Poland you can see him dominate, it is fantastic to watch but he has to be healthy and fit. Good to hear Gotze is more of a left or central player, hopefully he stays there.

I don’t expect Lewandowski to beat out Barrios, the Paraguayan is a great player with a proven scoring record. I just hope Lewandowski adjusts to the German style, plays well when he gets the chance and that he can force Klopp to fit him in the line up somehow. Right now Smuda (Poland manager) looks like he wants to play 433 with Lewandowski at the head, Kuba on the right and an inverted player on the left (Jelen if fit I’d assume) so like I said we need those three fit, healthy, and in form.

As for Piszczek, any minutes from him is a bonus.

NiWa on August 24, 2010 at 5:15 pm

Well Großkreutz seems a bit out of form currently. Now asked to play as a replacement for Kuba on right wing, he played much worse even.

So while Kuba is still out, Klopp should play Großkreutz on left again, try Lewandowski mid and Kagawa on right, subbing Götze in for whoever does not play so well.

Harry Goolees on August 25, 2010 at 8:59 am

Please do not forget Tamas Hajnal. Mohamed Zidane will come back into the squad later this year as well.

Phil on August 25, 2010 at 9:23 am

Lewandowski can also play on the right and has done so at Lech. Klopp should just give him a try on this position. I would furthermore prefer taking it slowly with Götze who didn’t have a very good game on Sunday.

That leaves us with

left: Großkreutz/Götze (sub)
center: Kagawa
right: Lewandowski

up front: Barrios

for the moment, if Kuba remains injured for a few weeks.
After that, we have the option of playing with

left: Großkreutz/Götze
center: Kagawa
right: Kuba/Lewandowski

up front: Barrios/Lewandowski

btw Hajnal is bound to leave Dortmund

and @ZM you misspelled Kagawa ‘Kagawo’ in the graphic.

Ralph Lee on August 24, 2010 at 5:11 pm

Would you add a ‘Bundesliga’ tag to your German league posts? I think it’s great that you’re giving the Bundesliga much-deserved coverage it doesn’t always get.

Leverkusen made sure this wasn’t an issue when they had the ball, by playing the ball quickly to their wide midfield players rather than through the centre of the pitch

Any thoughts on why Liverpool weren’t able to do this?

David on August 25, 2010 at 12:25 pm

their wingers, who have a lot of qualities (including work rate and intelligence), are not nearly as skillful or incisive as Renato Augusto and Barnetta. also, Man City have significantly better defensive fullbacks than Dortmund.

Sven on August 24, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Great analysis. What struck me most about the game was that Leverkusen used long balls even more often than last season and were very happy to concede possession to Dortmund. Bayer’s defensive line handled the resulting pressure very well, mainly because Dortmund made many avoidable mistakes in build up. However, I’m not sure whether Hyypiä and Reinartz will be able to repeat their performance against a more determined team than Dortmund.

Roberticus on August 25, 2010 at 2:51 am

Notice how Leverkusen’s nominally wide-midfielders (Barnetta & Renato Augusto*)moved inside as did Ljunberg and Pires of yore to make this a flexible 4-2-2-2/4-1-3-2 (with Vidal pushing on) at times.

Very much a Wenger/Pellegrini-esque interpretation of 4-4-2. Makes for much more flexible approach play.

* Renato played as an adavnced midfielder for Flamengo (as did Pires for Metz and Marseilles).

Harry Goolees on August 25, 2010 at 9:03 am

Both teams performed true to tradition. Leverkusen usually plays strong right at the beginning of the season, while Dortmund for some reason have been slow starters in the past years. This analysis is a _little_ less refined than ZM’s tactical dissection, I know .

Phil on August 25, 2010 at 9:40 am

I was also surprised what a strong offensive role Kehl played in the first half. Of the two central midfielders I would have expected Sahin to show more ambitions in that respect.

In the second half though there wasn’t a lot to admire anymore from Kehl- no statistics at hand but I think very few of his passes were successful and he almost stopped contributing to the attacking game.

Vaggelis on August 25, 2010 at 12:05 pm

First of all, thank you for this blog, i ‘ve been reading you for sometime now, this is my first comment.
Great analysis for this one ,as always.

I agree with roberticus, leverkusen’s wide players moved inside when dortmund had possession. Maybe because dortmund tried to play during the second half mainly through the middle. I ‘ve never seen gotze playing before but he certainly didn’t show me much (grosskreutz had an awful game too). So, it was really difficult for dortmund to create chances, especially when vidal totally dominated the pitch. As for the leverkusen attack, well when you have players with the physical abilities and the quality of kiessling and derdiyok it’s really easy to play long balls with the wingers moving forward looking for the rebound from headers etc.

I really liked kagawa, though he isn’t strong enough to compete in europe yet, he is very quick and seems to have a good understanding about the game.

p.s. i hope we will be seeing more bundesliga reports during the season